Sport Australia and the AIS have welcomed the new Minister for Sport – Senator the Hon. Richard Colbeck.
He takes over and will lead the way in continuing to make Australia the world’s most active sporting nation.
The aim also is to make Australia as a nation known for integrity, sporting success and world-leading sports industry.
South Melbourne football director, Peter Kokotis, has just one complaint following the club’s historic Australia Cup triumph last Saturday: that the team he has played a primary role in building may not have had due time to take it all in.
As those players – just a week on from becoming the first semi-professionals to win the national Cup – headed to Sydney for their next assignment, Kokotis took a rare moment to himself. Remaining in Melbourne, he reflected on what the achievement meant to the club he started supporting as an eight-year old in 1979, his uncle earlier a signatory to their 1959 establishment.
‘As was common with a lot of young Greek boys, our fathers were of a different generation. My father was in the hospitality industry, always working nights. So that two, three hours with him every second Sunday was gold to me. It was my time with dad,’ Kokotis told Soccerscene Unfiltered.
‘Once we dropped to the State League in 2005 some of us stayed, but a lot left or didn’t come at all, or went off to Melbourne Victory. We went from an NSL powerhouse to a club struggling to compete.
‘The last seven days [as we spoke] haven’t been normal. It’s been an incredible outpouring of emotion, gratitude from all over the community with people reaching out. It’s been really refreshing and lovely to listen to people’s stories of how it’s impacted them.’
From the gloom, South Melbourne now finds itself in its strongest position of the post-NSL era. Once a FIFA-licensed player agent, Kokotis has served as South’s general manager, a board member, and the past two seasons as senior football director – an immense task, given the relentless schedule the club is undertaking.
Off-field, they’re banging at the gates for an A-League license, a status they’ve been denied numerous times over the past 20 years. This time does feel different; with the A-League stagnating and South packing the stands on Cup final night, their top-flight exclusion looks ever-more incongruous with the broader health of the game.
While their preparedness to step up can’t just hinge on a result here or there, Kokotis is aware their on-field showings do supplement their attractiveness as a proposition – significantly.
‘We are evolving as a club, and there are many things we do outside of the senior team that are about cultural connection, the wider community. We’re not just a team that cares about trophies and silverware,’ he says.
‘But South is not a club built on coming second… and [winning] is my area. I feel the responsibility, the legacy and the history of the club, and all the success and great people that have come before us.
‘I feel obligated to maintain the machine and keep it going. This time is unique with what’s going on in the football landscape, and success now is very important.’
Catch the full chat with Peter Kokotis on Soccerscene Unfiltered: from helping Brazilian flair reach Australia and backing the unfancied Sinisa Cohadzic, to the top-down versus bottom-up growth debate, and plenty more…
Football Queensland has announced referee enrolment fees across the state will be removed in 2027, to help create an affordable and accessible pathway to officiating.
The decision marks another moment in FQ’s ten point plan to transform refereeing.
Whereas referees in Victoria can be charged between $100-$250 annually, FQ have opened the doors for all.
CEO Robert Cavallucci said in a statement via FQ, ‘Football Queensland is proud to confirm that all match officials will pay $0 in FQ enrolment fees to referee in 2027, in a major boost for Queenslanders as we make it even easier for participants in every corner of the state to become a referee.’
As football grows at an exponential rate in Australia, so too does its need for officials.
This welcoming and direct route to refereeing will hopefully see football in Queensland benefit in numerous ways. More trained officials means more games can be played; with more games comes more talent, and further opportunity for it to develop.
Cavallucci continued: ‘By reducing barriers to officiating through the removal of match official enrolment fees for 2027, Football Queensland’s additional investment in referee ‘match day’ development and training will also see a significant expansion of the statewide match day coaching program, delivering benefits to match officials in every region.’
With increased investment comes recognition the development of referee welfare frameworks must continue to be improved. A central aspect to FQ’s strategy is the concept of rest and rotation; with more referees comes the ability to step out of the high-pressure environment on the pitch on occasion, ensuring burn out of stress can be regulated in what is ostensibly a challenging job.
Football Queenslands commitment to the game via officials should be celebrated and inspire other organisations to do the same. Investing in officials can only further advance football in Australia.
